This type of occupant protection device is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-289556. This publication discloses an occupant protection device including an airbag disposed such that the airbag can be inflated at the side of an occupant which is adjacent to a door. When a side collision or the like of a vehicle occurs, the airbag is inflated with gas supplied from an inflator in order to protect the head and torso of the occupant.
In the occupant protection device according to the above-mentioned publication, when a side collision of the vehicle occurs, the airbag protects the head and torso of the occupant. However, the occupant protection device according to the above-mentioned publication does not aim to protect the torso of the occupant, in particular the chest and abdomen of the occupant. Accordingly, there is a risk that a large load will be applied to the chest and abdomen of the occupant, and there is a room for improvement.
In addition, this type of occupant protection device is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-202203. This publication also discloses an occupant protection device including an airbag disposed such that the airbag can be inflated at the side of an occupant which is adjacent to a door. When a side collision or the like of a vehicle occurs, the airbag is inflated with gas supplied from an inflator in order to protect the head and chest of the occupant.
In the occupant protection device according to the above-mentioned publication, when a side collision of the vehicle occurs, the airbag protects the head and chest of the occupant. However, in the occupant protection device according to the above-mentioned publication, the shape of the airbag is not determined with the consideration of the occupant's body shape or the shape of the door. Therefore, there is a risk that the inflated airbag will apply a large local load to the chest of the occupant, and there is a room for improvement.